


A Road Traveled, More or Less

by Shaddyr



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: sgareversebang, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-31
Updated: 2011-05-31
Packaged: 2017-10-20 13:22:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/213227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaddyr/pseuds/Shaddyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are many roads, and most of them are taken, more or less. Sometimes, those roads intersect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Road Traveled, More or Less

**Author's Note:**

> [](http://www.livejournal.com/users/outsideth3box/profile)[**outsideth3box**](http://www.livejournal.com/users/outsideth3box/) and [](http://www.livejournal.com/users/gables/profile)[](http://www.livejournal.com/users/gables/)**gables** are both amazingly wonderful people who put up with me and my last minute ways. They deserve love, chocolate and a Rodney McKay of their very own to play with. All mistakes that remain are mine alone; I continue to tweak even after they've done their work.
> 
> **Companion piece to[Roads to be taken.](http://sgareversebang.dreamwidth.org/26864.html)**

Wednesday, 12:32 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

  
Strident voices echoed down the hall, announcing to all those currently enjoying a quiet lunch in the Atlantis commissary that quiet was soon to be a thing of the past. A few of the scientists hopped up to bus their trays and run before the maelstrom hit. Several moments later, Radek and Rodney, looking a little like crazed twins with their messy hair and matching science blues, marched up to the food line. Their argument continued full force while they piled up their trays.

"Here they go again," said Grodin with a sigh. Weir looked up from the tablet she had been studying and shook her head, an indulgent smile on her features.

"Do we want to make room for them at our table?" asked Sheppard, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"I don't know, John," she said with a laugh. "I'm afraid they might come to blows the way they've been carrying on the last few days."

He grinned. "I wonder what odds I could get on that?"

"I heard that!" snapped McKay as he stopped beside the table. Sheppard just steepled his fingers and smiled. "Well? Are you going to move your tray out of the way or leave your stuff cluttering up the whole table?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Sheppard quipped as he snagged the tray and moved it further down the table so McKay could set his down.

Radek settled in opposite Weir, and placed his tray on the table. "Rodney, you cannot continue to ignore this!" he insisted, shaking a finger at McKay. "All the annotated data clearly shows there is some mental component involved."

"Oh yeah?" Rodney challenged. "Watch me..."

> Rodney stood unseen near the back of the room, observing the people around him. He felt a pang of sadness at seeing Grodin again, but it was soon overwhelmed by the excitement of discovery. He chuckled as he watched other!Rodney and other!Zelenka argue.
> 
> "Wow! This is amazing!"
> 
> Rodney walked around a bit, visiting the labs, the command center, the chair room, all along evaluating and writing on his tablet as he noted differences between this reality and his own.
> 
> He adjusted the setting on the dimensional shift controller on his wrist for a .02% differential and *shifted*.

  
Wednesday, 12:32 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

Rodney and Radek entered the commissary arguing, this time dressed in black BDUs. After getting their lunch, they went to sit with Colonel Sheppard, Weir and Daniel Jackson.

"Rodney, you cannot continue to ignore this!" began Zelenka.

> Rodney raised an eyebrow at Zelenka's comment. As before, he walked around the city, duly noting the similarities and the differences. Once again, he set the DSC for a .02% differential and *shifted*.

Wednesday, 12:33 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

Rodney and Radek entered the commissary arguing, dressed in matching green shirts. They continued while getting their lunches, then walked over to join Weir, Sheppard and Cadman at a table, arguing vociferously all the while.

> After a cursory tour around the city, Rodney admitted to himself that he was getting bored. He readjusted the setting on the DSC, this time setting it for a .03% differential and *shifted*.

Wednesday, 12:33 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

Rodney and Radek entered the commissary, dressed in science blue. They sniped sarcastically at each other while filling their trays. After grabbing some coffee, they walked over to join Colonel Sheppard, Ronon and a strange man who looked vaguely familiar. During the conversation, Ronon called him Teylan.

> Rodney did a double take.
> 
> "Okay! That was unexpected!" He cocked his head sideways to first look at Teylan, then the Colonel. "I bet he completely trounced this Sheppard with those sticks."
> 
> He grinned at the thought while he snooped around and made some more notes. He left it at the .03% differential and *shifted*.

 

Wednesday, 12:34 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

Radek and Rodney, both clad in Science green, strolled into the commissary, their perpetual argument wavering for a moment when Rodney spotted Katie Brown. He went over to say hello and the two shared a quick kiss before he picked up where he'd left off in his argument with Zelenka. The three of them headed over to the table where Sheppard and Weir sat.

"Rodney, you cannot ignore this! All the data clearly shows there is some mental component involved," Zelenka insisted as he sat down.

Rodney ignored him, holding out a chair for Katie. "Pay no attention to my colleague as he has clearly lost his mind," he told her with a grin before settling beside her. "Tell me about your day."

> Rodney's eyes widened as he watched the events unfold."Oh my God! Me and Katie Brown?"
> 
> He watched the couple create their own little cocoon, and suddenly realized he felt the bitter tang of envy."I'm jealous of myself? Oh, this is ridiculous!"
> 
> He tromped down on his irrational feelings as he finished up with gathering his data. "Well, at least it was an improvement," he muttered while adjusting the setting to a .05% differential."I bet it gets even more interesting in the next one."
> 
> He *shifted*.

 

Wednesday, 12:35 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

The normal babble of lunch chatter hushed into silence as Rodney and Radek quietly entered the commissary. Radek took a tray and prompted Rodney to do the same, hovering over him to ensure he selected something more than coffee before steering him towards the table where Weir sat with Teyla and Lorne.

"Hello, Rodney," Weir greeted him, her voice soothing and gentle. "It's good to see you out of the lab."

He just nodded and picked up his fork to poke at the something-like-chicken noodle entrée on his plate.  
Zelenka cleared his throat and then began to speak. "Listen, Rodney. I know you have misgivings about the mental component referenced by the Ancient's documentation for this device, but I think it's important."

Rodney sighed, and pushed his tray away. "I don't want to fight about it anymore. I disagree, but I willingly concede ownership of this project to you. You have final say over when, if ever, we run any live trials." He dropped his fork on his tray and crossed his arms. "I'm not hungry."

Weir shared a look of concern with Teyla and then spoke. "Rodney. You did everything you could. You need to eat. John wouldn't want-"

He jumped to his feet, eyes flashing angrily. "John wouldn't want? Well John's not here to say what he wouldn't want, is he? Because he decided to be a hero instead of waiting for me to fix things! ME the GENIUS! But I wasn't fast enough, and now John will never be able to tell anyone-"

His voice cracked and he looked away. Teyla rose from the table and approached him, but he threw a hand up to ward her off.

"Just... leave me alone," he said before turning to stiffly walk out of the room.

> This wasn't interesting; this was the stuff his nightmares were made of. In this reality, Sheppard was dead, and it was his fault.
> 
> Rodney thought he might vomit. He struggled to control the urge; he wasn't sure what would happen if he threw up inside the protective bubble surrounding him. He'd had quite enough. He entered the recall command, and *shifted* for home.

 

> Wednesday, 12:36 Atlantis Standard Time  
>  Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
> 
> "It has been less than five minutes since you shifted!" Rodney could hear Zelenka's excited tones before he had had fully phased in on the platform. "We were right - the device brings you back to almost the same time you left your reality as long as you remain within the displacement field!" Radek was demanding answers.
> 
> "Well? What did you see? Did it work?"
> 
> "Just give me a second!" Rodney snapped, waiting impatiently for the bubble to collapse. When it finally did, he stepped down, made a beeline for the nearest waste basket and promptly lost his lunch.Radek tilted his head to the side, concern on his features. "Nausea from the shift? We didn't account for that."
> 
> Rodney leaned his elbows on the nearby lab bench and cradled his head in his hands. "No, not the travel, that was fine." He looked over at Radek who stood with his arms folded in front of him. "I ended up in a reality where Grodin is alive and well."
> 
> The other scientist nodded. "I can see how that would be unsettling."
> 
> "I found another one where Katie Brown and I seem to be dating. And then..." Rodney looked away before finishing the statement. "Then I found a place where Sheppard was dead, and I was responsible."
> 
> Radek watched Rodney hang his head in despair, shame radiating off him. He powered down the console, then walked across the room and stood beside him. Radek rested his chin on the heel of one hand while supporting his elbow with the other, tapping his foot until Rodney looked back up at him.
> 
> "First of all, I am sure that whatever you saw, you are misinterpreting. No, you let me finish!" Radek shook a finger at Rodney as he tried to interrupt. "I know you. You are arrogant, proud and self-absorbed, and too often you will not admit to error. I also know that when you do finally see your fault, your arrogance leads you to take responsibility for things you have not done."
> 
> He frowned. "Even if the Rodney in that universe is truly responsible for the death of Colonel Sheppard – which I doubt, by the way - *you*are not him. You are from this universe, and have done nothing to lead to their Colonel's death – and ours is very much alive. So. How does Major Lorne sometimes say... yes. Suck it up, buttercup and get over yourself."
> 
> Rodney's jaw dropped and Radek watched as emotions played out on his face. Shock and anger followed by relief and gratitude. Rodney drew a steadying breath and nodded.
> 
> "Okay, you have clearly been spending too much time on away teams with Major Lorne if you're starting to pick up his colloquialisms. I think I'll be making an executive decision that I cannot have my second in command running off exploring strange planets-"
> 
> "Oh, you just try pulling something like that! Every gram of chocolate on Atlantis will suddenly vanish!"
> 
> "Hey! Do *not* get between me and the chocolate…"
> 
> Radek smiled at the bluster, relieved to see that Rodney was able to disengage from his feelings of guilt for actions that were not his own. Obviously, travelling to other realities was not going to be without some unexpected pitfalls.
> 
> He tapped his radio. "Dr. Weir? The first test has been a success. Do you have some time the afternoon... yes, we can be there in one hour. Dr. McKay and myself will bring a short report for you. Very good."
> 
> Rodney groaned. "Only an hour? Sadist. Okay, you can start writing the report. *I* need to go brush my teeth."

  
Wednesday, 12:32 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

  
The strident voices echoing down the hall alerted everyone within earshot that the current hot topic of debate between Atlantis's two premier scientists was being temporarily relocated to the commissary for lunch. A group of what McKay termed as 'soft scientists' grabbed their trays and exited en masse, skirting past Rodney and Radek as they entered the room, their rapid-fire argument continued as they hit the serving line and started loading up their trays.

Weir wasn't usually witness to this type of interplay – not that she didn't hear about it second hand, or get complaints about it as this morning's five page missive from Kavanaugh could attest. It was just that she didn't often have a lot of spare time to visit the labs or take a casual lunch with the members of her staff. Today she had decided that a working lunch reviewing some items with Colonel Sheppard in the commissary would be a nice way to get out of her office for a while. As she watched the squabble, she reflected again how there were moments that she felt more like an elementary school teacher than the head of an intergalactic expedition.

"Do you wanna pretend we're really busy?"

She looked over at Sheppard to find him giving her a lazy smirk.

"I've managed to mediate peace treaties between warring factions," she said, sotto voce. "I can handle the wonder twins before they come to blows."

He cocked an eyebrow. "I don't think I'd take those odds."

She was still laughing over the good natured teasing when McKay and Zelenka deposited their trays on the table. "What's so funny?" McKay asked, glancing between the two of them.

She shot a look at Sheppard who pasted on an innocent expression. She was saved from having to offer any type of explanation when Teyla approached.

"Good afternoon, Elizabeth," Teyla said as she stopped by the table. "May I join you?" she asked as Weir began to shuffle papers out of the way.

"Please do," Weir said. "Just be aware that the argument du jour is about to reconvene."

As if they had simply been waiting for permission, Radek and Rodney jumped right back into their argument, much to the amusement of everyone else.

"Rodney, I tell you again - you cannot ignore this! All the annotated data clearly shows that for complete control of the interface, there is some mental component involved," Zelenka insisted.

McKay’s reaction indicated this was an ongoing point of contention. "It’s just another case of the Ancient's well known preoccupation with Ascension," he said, dismissing Radek’s supposition with a wave of his fork.

Weir frowned. She had personally assisted with translating the documentation related to the device, and most of the technical jargon had been beyond her understanding. "You are absolutely sure there is no chance this device is a risk to anyone with the gene?"

He nodded. "It'll be safe to use as long as we no one with the gene is acting as the primary operator. No gene, no risk of accidental ascension."

"Rodney, you are wrong about this!"

"You saying there is a risk, Doctor Z?" Sheppard asked.

"No, not that," Radek shook his head. "He is wrong about the device being related to Ascension at all. It is not at all like the DNA re-engineering machine, or any of the other assisted-ascension devices we have discovered. And it requires someone with the gene to operate it to full potential."

McKay speared a bright blue vegetable of questionable origin. "Except for a few notable exceptions like Janus, any research they did that wasn’t for destroying the Wraith always ends up being related to Ascension. I’ve had quite enough of that for one lifetime, thanks." He shoved the bite in his mouth and chewed with determination, as if grinding Radek’s arguments to nothingness along with the hapless tuber.

"You are being unreasonable!" Radek said, exasperation evident. "You may think that it is all nonsense because you do not understand how it is relevant. This does not make it any less relevant!"

McKay rolled his eyes. "I postulate a hypothesis, and then perform controlled experiments within established parameters. The results speak for themselves. Every test and simulation we've run has shown that once the device is initialized, it can be used by anyone. I am firmly unconvinced someone with the gene needs to mind meld with the damn thing to make it function properly."

Radek threw his hands up and let out a string of invective in Czech before crossing his arms and glaring. "You are impossible to reason with!" He turned a beseeching look on Weir. "How can I be expected to work like this?"

"You?" McKay's voice pitched up incredulously. "I'm the one who has to put up with you small minded lack-wits!" He made an impatient noise. "It is clearly designed with the capability for a single person to operate it. However, given the Ancient's penchant for making nifty devices that bring on Ascension whether you want it or not, I remain of the opinion that a non ATA carrier should man the main control interface while the user is in transit. Then it's merely a case of it being more like walking through the gate than flying a jumper. It is not, as Doctor Demento here is insisting, some magical device that is somehow controlled by meditation, rituals, and thinking happy thoughts!"

"Rodney, you are very closed-minded for a man who calls himself a scientist."

"Hey! We are talking about the scientific method here! And I am not closed-minded!"

Sheppard had a speculative look on his face. "So, this device you guys have been playing with –" he began, only to have McKay nip his question in the bud.

"We do not play, Colonel."

"Aw, c'mon, Rodney. Don't be like that."

"You were saying, Colonel?" Teyla smoothly interjected.

"The device you.ve been running the simulations with," John said with a pointed look at Rodney before he continued. "McKay thinks it has a built in Ascend-o-matic and you don't. Beyond that, you both agree that it's basically a dimension hopping device that should let us explore similar, parallel universes where there could be similar, alternate version of us – is that right?"

McKay actually stopped chewing and glanced up at Sheppard with a pained look. "As usual, your summation is grossly simplified, and not entirely accurate. You fail to take into account –"

Zelenka cut him off. "Yes, Colonel, that's basically it."

Sheppard grinned as McKay gave Radek a Death Glare. Zelenka coolly stared back at him over his glasses. "Cool."

Teyla considered John’s description thoughtfully. "Our people believe that we have the ability to visit another ‘aspect’ through redirecting our consciousness in times of deep meditation."

"Another aspect?" Weir asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

Teyla stirred her tea as she nodded. "I believe it is the closest approximation in my understanding to what I have heard Dr. McKay and Dr. Zelenka describe as a parallel universe."

"Explain, please," Zelenka asked before taking a bite of his own lunch.

"For those who are adept at deep meditation, there are techniques we are taught to reach a higher plateau where all physical things fall away. Here we are able to focus our consciousness on unfulfilled possibilities - other lives if you will. We call this place the Aspect. Our people, as many in this galaxy, have suffered much loss and grief. We practise this meditation to come to terms with the sufferings we have endured, to help us cope with that which we cannot change. While we meditate, we are able to re-live the event, and integrate that which we have learned since. This assists us in releasing our bondage to it."

"That sounds very similar to some guided meditation techniques that I’ve heard about. It's a very useful therapeutic tool," Weir commented.

Teyla nodded and continued. "We may see visions of different possibilities, versions of our lives where things are not the same. At times, we may even see our future. Some say they have been able to communicate directly with these different versions of themselves – the Aspect that is not, the Aspect that is yet to be. Some say they have been able to influence a change in the events they experienced, like re-writing the end of a play. This can afford great comfort to those who suffer. Some have chosen new paths as a result of the possibilities they have seen. We emerge from our meditation refreshed and renewed, bringing with us a reflection of that Aspect with which to face the future."

"Well, that’s just... great," McKay tossed off flippantly. "The touchy-feely head-shrinking approach to astrophysics. Why didn’t I think of that?"

Sheppard casually leaned over and smacked the back of his head.

"Ow!" McKay yelped, rubbing the spot while glaring at the Colonel.

"Play nice with the other kids," John sing-songed without a drop of remorse.

Weir tried to repress a smile, giving him a reproachful look of her own. "It isn't really that uncommon of a belief, Rodney. There are a number of cultures on earth with similar beliefs."

"Those are usually the same cultures who believe a photograph can steal your soul and that the future can be divined by reading the entrails of a chicken. Uhm." He glanced sideways at Teyla. "Not that I'm trying to imply that the Athosians think that or anything."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "I am not sure why anyone would believe they could read the future in the intestines of a dead fowl," she said, an amused look on her face.

He waved a hand dismissively. "My *point* is – you can meditate all you want, but you can't astral travel your way to another dimension. At best, it's lucid dreaming and that's it."

"You don't know that, Rodney," Weir rejoined, warming to the argument. "In fact, what Teyla was describing actually seems to supports Radek's position about the importance of having a mental component to the process."

"What?" McKay rolled his eyes. "If you say so. And you studied quantum mechanics where, exactly?"

"Are you telling me you’ve never had an inexplicable impulse to do something that made no sense at the time?" she asked, taking the role of devil's advocate. "Like a whisper in your ear, urging you to make a decision or choice that was at odds with what you might normally do, but was so insistent you couldn't ignore it?"

When he gave her his, 'You are all completely insane except for me,' look, Weir couldn't help but take the opportunity to yank his chain a little. "Maybe it was an alternate you, or a future you, visiting from a parallel world or travelling back in time by force of will alone. Maybe-"

"Yes, yes, that’s all very interesting in an 'I-got-my-doctorate-from-a-box-of-Cracker-Jacks' kind of way." He pushed away from the table and picked up his tray. "Now, if you don’t mind, I have real work to do. The kind involving physics, science and measurable data. You'll have to excuse me if I demand little things like, oh, empirical evidence to support what is, up to now, wild conjecture."

He walked away from the table in a huff, head held high. Unfortunately, his grand exit was ruined by the laughter that followed him across the room.

> Wednesday, 19:21 Atlantis Standard Time  
> Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
> 
>   
>  A small crowd had gathered in the commissary. During their impromptu staff meeting with Weir, word had spread around Atlantis about the successful test, once again proving that gossip on a base travelled faster than light speed. People had been speculating all afternoon, and when he and Radek finally had a chance to pop in to grab some dinner, they quickly found themselves swarmed. Everyone wanted to be there for a firsthand recounting.
> 
> Replete with the giddy feeling of success, McKay was in a magnanimous mood and he willingly indulged them.
> 
> "With the smaller increments, it appeared that many of the divergences were merely cosmetic," he said in reply to a question about the biggest differences he had noticed. "In one reality, we wore standard science blue, and in another, the colour was green. Sometimes the layout of the labs was different. There were often differences in personnel."
> 
> He thought about Teylan. "Sometimes, very big differences in personnel."
> 
> The moment he paused to take a sip of his coffee, he was peppered with questions from every side, who had he seen, what had he observed, had anything interesting happened - he held up his hands to quell the tide.
> 
> "Okay, okay," he laughed as he shook his head. "Let's see." He snapped his fingers. "Some things were almost identical – for example, Radek and I were having a similar argument in every reality I visited."  
>  Rodney spied Katie Brown in the group around him, and he suddenly blushed as he wondered at the possibilities.
> 
> "One interesting thing was that our reality seems to be the only one running actual live testing - all the other Radeks and Rodneys are still arguing over the mental component nonsense."
> 
> Radek objected. "Rodney, just because the device has functioned successfully without fully understanding the mental aspect, does not preclude the fact it is important."
> 
> "Oh, don't get me started on that again!"
> 
> Sheppard gave a look that clearly said, 'saw this show already, and don't need re-run, thanks'. "So, you're saying things were pretty much the same in every reality? Science green instead of blue, huh? Sounds kinda boring."
> 
> McKay abruptly recalled the universe where Sheppard had died. The Colonel had been off world during the meeting with Weir and hadn't heard their report. He gave a short, bitter laugh. "It was starting to get boring, up until the universe where you were *dead*."
> 
> The crowd around them became very quiet. Sheppard looked thoughtful. "Don't suppose you were able to find out why so I could avoid the same mistake here?"
> 
> "Yes," McKay answered without hesitation. "Let me do my job, which is pulling miracles out of my ass to keep us all alive. Don't be in such a damn hurry to sacrifice yourself playing the hero."
> 
> Sheppard blinked. "Okay then. I'll keep that under advisement."
> 
> McKay's good mood had completely evaporated. He glared at the people around the table. Members of his staff saw it coming, and started beating a hasty retreat even as he opened his mouth.
> 
> "Don't any of you people have jobs you need to be doing right now?" he demanded, and what was left of the group scattered. McKay let out a snort and finished off his coffee.
> 
> "Gee, Rodney," Sheppard drawled. "You really know how to clear a room."
> 
> "They're not here to lollygag around all day. There's work to be done. Speaking of which..." McKay looked meaningfully at Radek.
> 
> "I'm ready to head back," Zelenka commented as he picked up his tray. "I was ready some time ago, but someone seemed to be more interested in telling tales than getting back to the lab-"
> 
> "I'm sure you would find working on the waste disposal systems simply fascinating, Radek," McKay threatened while he walked over and dump his tray.
> 
> "Mind if I tag along?"
> 
> McKay gave Sheppard a calculating look. The colonel had been spending an inordinately large amount of time in the lab lately. Granted, he mostly managed to avoid being underfoot. Rodney was convinced that Sheppard was hoping to be around at just the right time so he could wrangle an invite to try the  
>  reality shifting device.
> 
> "If you like, Colonel. I'm sure we can find something for you to touch."
> 
> Sheppard rose from his seat, a pithy comeback on his lips when everything went to shit. An explosion rocked the city, knocking over tables and chairs, throwing everyone in the room to the floor. The lights flickered a of couple times and then went out completely.
> 
> McKay felt a frisson of fear skate down his spine as he heard the tell tale whine of Wraith darts zipping overhead.
> 
> Sheppard was first to his feet. He shoved the two scientists behind a table that lay on its side as he tapped his radio. "Sheppard! Report!" he snapped out as he drew his sidearm and assessed their immediate situation. Several marines headed toward him, but he signalled them to assist the other civilians scattered throughout the room.
> 
> Radek glanced over at Rodney from where they crouched behind the fallen table, eyes wide. "What has happened?"
> 
> Sheppard's grim voice answered the question. "There's a Hiveship in orbit." Radek gasped
> 
> "How the hell is that even possible?" Rodney demanded. "The sensors should-"
> 
> Sheppard cut him off. "I don't *know*, McKay! They caught us with our pants down. Now shut the hell up!"
> 
> Not privy to the account being given over the military channel, they watched the Colonel alternate between listening intently, tersely asking questions, and issuing commands. McKay saw pure anguish twist his features before they went blank. A moment later, Sheppard tapped his comm and activated the emergency band that would broadcast to every comm in the city.
> 
> "Attention Atlantis Expedition. We are under attack. Doctor Weir is dead. There are Wraith in the city. The shield is up, but it may not be for much longer. We have no choice but to abandon Atlantis. Drop everything and make all possible haste to the Gateroom. There is currently an open wormhole back to Stargate Command. It will remain open for the next 36 minutes, or until the Wraith breach the command center. Good luck and Godspeed. Sheppard out."
> 
> "Elizabeth…" came Radek's distressed whisper. His expression quickly changed to apprehension. "If the Wraith gain access to the gate-"
> 
> "We can't let the Wraith reach Earth." McKay spoke with quiet determination. "And we can't let them have Atlantis. Without Elizabeth, we can't arm the self destruct." He was surprised by his unnatural calm in facing his imminent death. "We have to destroy the city."
> 
> "I have to destroy the city," Sheppard corrected. "You and Radek have to get out of here."
> 
> "Don't be stupid, Colonel. I'm going to-"
> 
> "This is not open for discussion, McKay," Sheppard cut him off, then turned and called out after the group that was just exiting the commissary." Phillips!" A short, dark haired marine did an about face and double-timed it across the room.
> 
> "Sir!"
> 
> "Private, I need you to escort Doctors McKay and Zelenka to the gate room."
> 
> "Sir, yes sir!" The young marine gestured toward the door. "If you'll come this way Doctors."
> 
> "Sheppard! As much as noble sacrifice is not at the top of my favourite ways to die, I can't just trot off and leave. You're going to need my help."
> 
> "I managed just fine during the storm, McKay!" he snapped back. "Get going!"
> 
> "Against a bunch of Genii! Wraith are a lot faster and smarter and you can't do this alone!"
> 
> Sheppard rounded on McKay, the look on his face thunderous. "Rodney! For once in your life, would you just follow the goddamn order and not argue? You'll be a liability!"
> 
> McKay gaped for a moment, stung by the supposition before screwing his face up into a scowl. "Don't try pulling this with me, Colonel, not after the number of times I've saved us all at the eleventh hour! Short of *knocking me out*and having your grunt carry me away, there is no way I am blithely following your short-sighted and ill conceived order, so let's stop wasting time and get on with what needs to be done, shall we?"
> 
> Sheppard's expression was thunderous. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, and for just a moment, Rodney worried that he might actually punch him and have him forcibly dragged away.
> 
> Another explosion rocked the city. They all winced at the feedback squeal in their ears as their respective radios went to static.
> 
> "Philips." Rodney's eyes were fixed on Sheppard's as he addressed the young marine. "You better take Dr. Zelenka and get to the gateroom before it's too late."
> 
> Radek cleared his throat. "I will not go," he said, shaking his head. "You may need my assistance."
> 
> Rodney looked at him sharply. "Radek-"
> 
> Zelenka returned the look with a solemn one. "Rodney. Let me help."
> 
> After a moment, he gave a quick nod, and then looked back at Sheppard. "Colonel, I suggest you tell your soldier to get going."
> 
> Sheppard's mouth flattened into a thin line, and he glared at Rodney before he finally spoke. "Philips. Belay the last order, and haul ass out of here."
> 
> The marine gave him a salute. "Yes sir." He glanced briefly at McKay and Zelenka, and to Rodney's surprise, gave them a quick salute as well. "Good luck," he said, then double timed it across the room and down the hall after the group that had just left.
> 
> Sheppard's expression was unreadable which Rodney recognized was generally a Very Bad Thing.
> 
> "When this is all over with," he began mildly as he motioned them down the hallway, "We're going to have a discussion on the importance of following orders." He crouched at the corner and scanned the corridor before urging them to follow. "This discussion will involve the judicious use of bantos rods. If, by the end of it, I am fully not satisfied that you understand the concept, we're going to have a follow up discussion. After you get out of the infirmary."
> 
> McKay gulped. "Is that a threat, Colonel?"
> 
> "Absolutely not. It's a promise."

  
Wednesday, 19:21 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

  
"Hey, Rodney."

McKay didn't even look up. "What?" he asked, eyes fixed on the data scrolling down the screen of his laptop.

"Well, that's not very personable," Sheppard replied as he came over to lean a hip against Rodney's desk.

"Colonel, if you have a point, perhaps you could get to it?"

Sheppard glanced around the lab. There were a few scientists hunkered over various tables and a couple more at the white board. All of them were studiously ignoring McKay. He turned his gaze back to his friend. Rodney's face was drawn and tired, his eyebrows furrowed up in the expression he got when something had him stumped. It was kind of adorkable.

"You have dinner yet?"

By way of answer, McKay held up an empty power bar wrapper in one hand and his coffee cup in the other.

Sheppard pursed his lips, then continued. "It's mystery meatloaf night," he said winningly.

McKay finally deigned to look at him, exasperation evident. "Don't you have anything better to do?" he demanded. "Can't you go harass the marines with drills or something?"

"Sent them on an off-world training exercise with Ronon and Teyla when the mission to PX4 was postponed this morning," he said with a lazy grin. "So, no, not really." Sheppard could almost see the steam starting to build and realized this AR project had McKay even more tense than usual, which was saying a lot. He had a crazy impulse to offer him a backrub, but that could only end badly. Better to stick with things that were firmly in the Friendship realm.

"Get out of the lab, Rodney," Radek said before Rodney had a chance to reply. "Colonel, please take him away and don't let him come back until he has eaten something that does not come in a shelf-stable package. Also, if you could please make him drink something without caffeine in it? The science department thanks you."

Sheppard started laughing as McKay spluttered in outrage. "C'mon Rodney," he said as he snagged a finger in the neckline of Rodney's shirt and gave a yank. "Let's get you fed and watered and then you can come back to play."

McKay pushed Sheppard's hand away. "I am not a child," he said with a scowl, but he followed Sheppard out of the room.

> Wednesday, 19:47 Atlantis Standard Time  
>  Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
> 
>   
>  They shot three Wraith on the way. Sheppard got the drop on the first one. Three 9mm bullets to the head at point blank range proved to be too much, even for them. They recovered the drone's weapon which was promptly put to good use when they came around the corner and encountered two more drones between them and the transporter.
> 
> Sheppard took one out with the stunner, but the other was too quick, and dove into a nearby alcove that afforded shelter. He let out a stream of invective that Rodney half expected to blister the walls.
> 
> "There's no way to get to the transporter now," Sheppard said with a scowl. He leaned around the corner to squeeze off several shots before pulling back quickly. A series of energy blasts passed through the spot he had just occupied. "He's got a clean line of sight on it and there's no way to smoke him out!" His frustration was evident.
> 
> Zelenka peered speculatively at the Wraith stunner. "Colonel, may I please see the weapon?"
> 
> John raised an eyebrow, but handed it over. Radek opened it up and examined the power pack, then began to rewire it.
> 
> "Hey!" Sheppard protested. "We need that, Dr. Z! I'm almost out of bullets."
> 
> "Just one moment, please," he muttered as he worked, McKay peering over his shoulder.
> 
> A look of approval settled across Rodney's face. "You have to dig into the slimy stuff – yeah, that's right – now cross those two and cut that one," he said, pointing at components within the weapon. Radek nodded having already drawn the same conclusion. He made the adjustments and closed everything back up and wiped his fingers on his shirt.
> 
> "Colonel, I would suggest we all take cover," he said as he tossed it down the hall towards the Wraith.
> 
> "What the hell you doing?" John demanded, but Zelenka had already thrown himself to the floor, covering his head with his hands. McKay jerked Sheppard down with him, crowding him against the wall and covering the Colonel's body with his own.
> 
> A split second later, an explosion shook the corridor behind them. The city walls, already weakened by Wraith bombardment, fractured and began to crumble, raining chunks of debris on them. John scrambled out from under a stunned McKay to peak around the corner. He saw the Wraith lying in the rubble, unmoving.
> 
> "Stay back," John ordered as he darted down the hall.
> 
> Rodney slowly clambered to his feet before helping Radek out from under the jumble. After assuring himself the other man was alright, Rodney inched up to the corner and risked a look down the corridor. He saw John heading back towards them.
> 
> "I told you to stay back!"
> 
> McKay ignored that. "He's dead?"
> 
> "Yeah." John gave them a tight grin. "You guys overloaded his phaser. Nice one."
> 
> McKay huffed. "If there was ever any doubt that you were a geek, it has been eliminated."
> 
> That elicited an amused snort. "I'm not the one who thought of overloading the phaser. Nerd."
> 
> Radek interrupted the byplay. "The important question is, will the transporter work after that explosion?"
> 
> Rodney walked up to the panel and waved a hand over it. The door shuddered, but opened. "Only one way to find out." The three of them slipped in and Sheppard selected the transporter nearest to the weapons locker located on the ZPM room level.

  
Wednesday, 19:47 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

  
"Oh please! That had to be one of the worst movies of the last year!" Rodney said before shovelling a forkful of meatloaf in his mouth.

"It was cool," Sheppard disagreed, mopping up some gravy with a piece of bread. "Especially the scene in the hospital at the end- 'Leave immediately, or I will deport you – go to hell!" He mimed swinging a shotgun around the room to shoot at various targets.

McKay stared at him for a moment. "First of all, the character in the graphic novel looks nothing like Keanu Reeves. You would think they could at least get the casting right. And if they had to cast off type, you would think they could have at least picked a decent actor! That guy can't act his way out of a paper bag. He should have stuck to Bill and Ted movies!"

Sheppard turned to him and intoned in a solemn voice, "Dude, I believe our adventure through time has taken a most serious turn."

"I – you – " Rodney threw up his hands in disgust. "I should have known you would like those movies too!"

"Well, they were most excellent," Sheppard quipped, and Rodney launched into rant about how those movies were even worse than Back to the Future. Sheppard just picked up his pudding and grinned as the words washed over him.

> Wednesday, 19:58 Atlantis Standard Time  
>  Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
> 
> While they heard the report of gun fire and the whine of energy weapons echoing through the corridors, they didn't run into any more Wraith between the transporter and the weapons locker. There were a half dozen tac vests in the room, and they each pulled one on, stuffing the various pockets with C4, grenades, ammunition and anything else Sheppard pointed out as potentially useful. McKay strapped on a thigh holster without a second thought, then automatically added a P90 to his ensemble. He moved in to help Zelenka attach the unfamiliar weapon to the harness, and caught Sheppard watching. When their eyes met, Sheppard just nodded.
> 
> "Let's move out."
> 
> When they got back to the transporter, it wouldn't activate. They could get the doors to open, but the interior panel was non-responsive.
> 
> "Hmm, let me just see..." Rodney pulled a panel cover to access the crystals beneath. He moved several of them around before using one to bridge several others. There was a flicker of power to the display before it went dark once more.
> 
> Radek shook his head. "You won't be able to override that, Rodney. This only happens when the transporters are offline citywide."
> 
> "Goddammit!" Sheppard's expletive startled the two scientists who both whipped their heads around to stare at him. "You both need to head for the gate room right now. If you run, you'll make it before the wormhole closes."
> 
> McKay gave a mirthless chuckle. "It's what, thirty levels up from where we are right now?"
> 
> "Thirty one," Radek supplied, looking a little pale.
> 
> "Right. Okay, so I may be in a lot better shape now than I was three years ago, but there is no way that I'm going to make it up thirty one floors in-" he glanced down at his watch. "Twenty four minutes."
> 
> "It's over 300 levels down to the ZPM power room," Radek interjected. "But the chair room is several levels above that. I may be able to restore power to the transporters if we can get to the main control panel for a few minutes."
> 
> "Are you kidding me?" Rodney exclaimed. "I could restore the power in my sleep! Even you could do it easily, though you might have to keep your eyes open. But we'll still never make it in time!"
> 
> "If we run, not only we will make it, we'll have 9 minutes to get the transporters online, set the charges, and make it back to the gateroom." Sheppard firmly planted hand in the center of each of their backs and gave them a hearty shove towards the stairwell.
> 
> "Stop talking and *move*."
> 
> ***
> 
>   
>  The trip to the base of the tower was a nightmare.
> 
> They had to pick their way over the dead bodies of friends and colleagues littering the stairs. Some were recognizable, some desiccated beyond identification. A few times they happened upon a Wraith in the process of draining someone, and Sheppard descended on each of them like an avenging angel bringing down wrath from on high. Every single time though, they were too late to save the victim, and even the few who were still alive had to be left behind.
> 
> "Sheppard," McKay hissed as the Colonel spoke softly to the man they had just managed to pull free from the latest wraith encounter. He recognized the marine as Cpl. Vargas. The frail, shrunken slip of a man laying on the floor bore little resemblance to the hulking marine the scientists had often imposed on when there was something heavy to be moved. "We've got 7 more minutes to reach the power room! We have to go!"
> 
> "Go kick some ass for me, sir," Vargas managed to wheeze. "Hoo-rah."
> 
> Sheppard looked up at McKay, grief and fury warring for dominance before his face went blank. He nodded, then reached down to pull Vargas's gun from his holster and press it into his hand. He snapped off a perfect salute, then stood and turned away.
> 
> "Let's go."
> 
> They were halfway down the next flight when the gunshot shattered the silence. McKay checked his watch – they had 14 minutes 47 seconds left.
> 
> ***  
> Wednesday, 20:19 Atlantis Standard Time  
>  Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
> 
>   
>  After a quick recon found no Wraith in or around the chair room, McKay and Sheppard left Zelenka alone to work on the power relays, and made their way down to the power room. They planted strategic charges around the ZPM and under the control consoles.
> 
> "You're sure this will trigger the ZPM to overload?" Sheppard asked.
> 
> "It'll make the nuke you used on the Hiveship look like a flash bang," Rodney assured him as they worked in tandem priming the charges. "When this goes off, there won't be a gate left for the Wraith to hijack. There won't be a city left, for that matter – just several hundred kilometres of radioactive ocean."
> 
> Their eyes locked together for a moment before they both returned to the task at hand. Sheppard slipped the detonator into a front pocket of his tac vest, then took a moment to set up a timer. McKay watched as he set it for 3 minutes and then shoved it into the soft chunk of plastique.
> 
> "If we don't make it..." Sheppard began, trailing off uncomfortably.
> 
> Before Rodney could reply, Zelenka came running into the room. "I got them online!" he yelled, looking wild eyed and frazzled.
> 
> Rodney shot an incredulous smile at Sheppard. They were going to make it!
> 
> "Well, come on, McKay," Sheppard quipped, grabbing his tac vest to pull him along as he headed out the door. "No time to dilly dally!"
> 
> The three of them hauled ass to the transporter just down the corridor. Rodney looked at his watch just Sheppard selected the transporter nearest the Gateroom. They had two minutes and 35 seconds left.

  
Wednesday, 20:19 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

Sheppard hauled back and hit he golf ball.

"Ah! Perfect shot!" he crowed as he watched the ball sail across the screen and land on the green. He carefully lined up his shot and sunk it with one putt.

He looked at the clock. It was going to be time to go drag Rodney out of the labs soon. This AR thing was eating up most of their buddy time – he hadn't been able to wheedle a game of virtual golf out of him in weeks.

But first, another round.

> Wednesday, 20:20 Atlantis Standard Time  
>  Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
> 
> Stunner blasts tore through the transporter the moment the door opened. Two drones stepped forward, only to discover their quarry was smarter than expected. Sheppard and McKay swung around from where they had been crouched on either side of the door, P90s blazing.
> 
> The drones went down under the assault, but McKay could see more coming up the hall. He could also see more bodies lying on the floor, like in the stairwell, most just withered husks. His eyes were drawn to a form clad in camouflage, with a tell tale shock of dark hair.
> 
> "Phillips." The name fell from his lips, a whispered epitaph for the fallen soldier.
> 
> "Get us out of here!" Sheppard ordered, and Radek complied, hand darting up to select the location, transporter doors closing before the Wraith could get off a shot. They rematerialized down the hall from Rodney's lab.
> 
> Sheppard took point, followed by Radek with Rodney bringing up the rear. They swiftly made their way to the lab, and sealed the doors behind them. Sheppard took up position, facing the door with his P90 ready while they accessed the city network.
> 
> "The control room is completely cut off, Colonel," Rodney reported as he reviewed the status reports he was pulling up.
> 
> "There are still life signs in that room," Radek added as he made some adjustments to an adjoining console. "Let me try something..."
> 
> There was a hiss and a pop. "Zelenka to control, do you read?"
> 
> A tinny sounding voice came through the city comm system. "Copy that, Doctor! What's your status and location?"
> 
> "Captain Levine, report!" Sheppard barked out.
> 
> "Aye sir! Markham and I have secured the control room. 186 people made it back to Earth. And it's good to hear your voice, sir!"
> 
> "Copy that, Captain. Exactly how did you secure the room?"
> 
> "A judicious application of C4 to every entrance except the jumper bay, sir!"
> 
> "Nice work, Captain."
> 
> "Thank you, sir." There was a hesitation." Colonel, the wormhole is still open, but it won't be for much longer. What are your orders?"
> 
> Sheppard looked at them. Rodney shook his head.
> 
> "There's no way we can make it in time. Even if we used a shaped charge to blast through the blockage, we've only got –" he checked his watch, "a minute and 32 seconds." He shook his head. "Tell them to get going."
> 
> Sheppard nodded. "You and Markham need to get out now. We'll finish things up on this end."
> 
> "But sir!"
> 
> "Go, Levine. And pass my regards to General O'Neill."
> 
> "Yes, sir.
> 
> Rodney found it surreal, how Radek quietly touched the control to disconnect the city comm, how Sheppard casually pulled the detonator from his pocket and thumbed the safety guard up.
> 
> "So, this is it, huh?" He found his voice sounded strangely hollow in his ears.
> 
> "I guess it is," Sheppard replied with a nod.
> 
> "I disagree," said Radek. They looked to find him standing there with a wrist device for each of them. McKay grabbed one, then nudged Sheppard to do the same. "While dying to protect our loved ones is a worthy sacrifice, I'd still prefer to avoid it if possible," Radek continued as he secured a DSC around his own wrist. "It may not be our reality, but perhaps we can find a place to live and a measure of peace in knowing that we saved our homeworld."
> 
> Rodney slipped on his controller as Radek powered up the machine. He turned to find that Sheppard was still staring at the device in his hand.
> 
> "It slips right on, here, just let me..." Rodney grabbed the device to put it on Sheppard, but then stopped short. "Uhm. You should probably take off the wristband. Just to make sure. The connection, I don't know if it would interfere-"
> 
> Sheppard slipped it off and stuffed it in a tac vest pocket, then thrust his wrist forward, detonator in hand. Rodney quickly secured the DSC in place.
> 
> "Hurry please." Radek was already there waiting. "If we want to shift together, we must synchronise the DSC so that we are in phase with each other."
> 
> Rodney plugged a LAN cable into his tablet and typed in a query. "I'm downloading the sensor logs for the last 2 weeks," he said grimly. "I'd like to know why the hell we didn't see them coming. Who knows, maybe the information will be useful where ever we end up."
> 
> Just under a minute later, the tablet beeped. He disconnected it and stepped up beside Sheppard. Radek leaned over the command console to enter several keystrokes and the platform they were standing on lit up.
> 
> "Enter dimensional variation at 0.02%," Rodney instructed as he adjusted the settings on his DSC, then showed Sheppard how to set his.
> 
> "Entered," Radek replied as he toggled another switch on the console. A hum filled the room.
> 
> McKay gave Sheppard a weak smile. "Well, you wanted a chance to see another dimension."
> 
> "Yeah," Sheppard agreed quietly. "Not quite the circumstances I had in mind."
> 
> "Colonel," Zelenka said, and Sheppard looked at him. He had one arm extended over the console, hand hovering over the surface. "We are about to go out of phase with this reality. I would suggest that you detonate on one."
> 
> Sheppard nodded, and lifted the detonator, resting his thumb in the switch.
> 
> "Three." Rodney could feel the sweat popping up on his brow and he had to remind himself to breathe.
> 
> "Two." Sheppard's fingers tightened around the detonator while his thumb remained relaxed over the trigger.
> 
> "One." Sheppard depressed the trigger as Radek sent the command that phased them out. A barely visible bubble formed around them as explosions rocked the city to its foundations. A different reality was already beginning to superimpose itself over there's when everything whited out, leaving things misty and out of focus.
> 
> "Was that-" Sheppard's voice was hoarse, like the words were stuck in his throat.
> 
> "Yes, Colonel," replied Radek. "Our Atlantis is no more."

  
Wednesday, 23:55 Atlantis Standard Time  
Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy

  
"You can't argue with the data," McKay said as he gestured at the equations on the tablet in front of him. "All the results are within expected parameters. It only makes sense we move to the next logical step."

Zelenka continued to write on the whiteboard as he shook his head. "I am as eager to proceed as you are, but I still think it would be best to wait. Running simulations is all very well and good, but we need to get a better idea of how bio matter will react to the stresses created by the passage. We must be sure it is safe..."

"I'm going to start calling you Baba Zelenka!" Rodney scoffed. "We’ve been working on this going on three months! We moved from testing with non-reactives to bio matter almost two weeks ago, and there have been no abnormalities, no signs of cellular decay, no radiation, nothing! It’s perfectly safe, and I'm so sure of that, I'm willing to be the one who tests it!"

Radek turned to face him, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. "What harm is there in more testing?" he asked, weariness evident in his tone. "Despite Elizabeth's assistance in translating, our understanding of the documentation is incomplete. We still have to account for the mental component involved in operating the device, whether you like or not. Caution-"

"Oh ,COME on!" Rodney yelled, crossing his arms. "We have been over this a thousand times already! If it really needed an ATA carrier to operate, we wouldn't have been able to send the mice through. All that will happen is I just won’t go anywhere. What could possibly go wrong?"

Radek gaped at him. "What could go wrong? Do you hear yourself? There are so many possibilities I cannot even begin making a list of what could go wrong!"

McKay took a deep breath and then began again, speaking slowly, as if to a particularly dull pupil. "Look, all we’re going to do is take it for a test drive. We set it for next to nothing, say, a point zero one percent divergence from our reality. You run the interface and set the input parameters for the initial shift. I go see what’s happening *in a parallel universe* and then come back, none the worse for wear! I probably won’t even interact with that reality at all because I'll be a phase shift away from it!"

"Rod interacted with our reality," Zelenak reminded him, unhelpfully.

McKay pressed his lips together. "That was *different*. We had just ripped a rather large hole between the universes which he slipped through in that personal shield bubble of his, kind of like a golf ball going down a storm drain. And he was trying to interact with us! It was kind of the whole point of his being here. I’d just be going there to observe, with my handy dandy Ancient multi-D controller," he held up the wrist device and waved it around, "generating a phase bubble around me. No one would see me, and a click of a button would have me back home."

"And the possibilities of temporal anomalies?"

"You're grasping at straws! You've seen the results of the sims. There was less than one thousandth of a percent that there would be any time slippage. At worst, we skip a few minutes backward or forward instead of translocating sideways into another reality. Who knows, maybe I’ll suddenly appear and tell us that it works!"

They both stopped and glanced around the lab before Rodney looked sheepishly at Zelenka.

"Okay, if that was going to happen, it probably already would have, and since it didn't, it won’t."

Zelenka set his hands on the lab bench and leaned forward into McKay's space. "Or perhaps it did happen, and we are a divergent future timeline that was created when you came back to warn us not to do it without more testing!"

"Touchy," McKay groused, waving a hand in Zelenka's face. "You know, some theories postulate a divergent timeline is created every time we make an important decision. Somewhere, there is a universe created when I decided I was too busy to stop for a cup of coffee on morning." He considered that and frowned. "And I’m sure in that universe, I missed something extremely important because of a caffeine withdrawal headache and we all died very horribly."

Zelenka grabbed McKay's tablet and rapidly typed a few commands to bring up a 3-dimensional image that represented the progress of their recent simulations. "Here and here," he pointed out different areas of the display, "and even when we lowered the energy output, here – there was a spike, right across the spectrum. Whether you subscribe to M-Theory or infinite parallel universes, we are still looking at the possibility that introducing enough energy to transport a person to an alternate reality – even partially, within a temporal bubble – might fracture the matrix of the bubble and propel the viewer fully into the alternate reality, one that is far removed and radically divergent from our own. I believe this is where the mental component is necessary. To try and proceed without it will, at best result in simple failure. At worst, the results could be disastrous."

McKay shook his head. "Not if I compensate by buffering-" his hand darted past Zelenka’s to type in an equation – "Like so." He hit enter with a flourish. The image flickered and then evened out, the jagged spikes melting down into the smooth surface of the asymmetrical waveform like ice under the summer sun.

"Equations, Rodney. The numbers look good. The simulation looks good." Radek bit his lip, took a deep breath, and then pressed on. "You know better than anyone how sometimes what looks good in the simulation does not actually work when it comes to ancient technology."

McKay's face went slack with shock, and it took him a full five seconds to recover himself enough to respond."This isn’t-" McKay bit back his reply, anger suffusing his features as he turned away. "Yes. I do know," he said, voice tight, his entire body rigid. "Fine. We’ll do more tests."

Radek had hoped that Rodney would listen to reason without bringing up Doranda. Unfortunately, given the direction and tone of their last few arguments - and the fact Rodney's arrogance was hitting pre-Doranda levels - it seemed like the only thing that might make Rodney stop and consider the possible repercussions. "I want this to succeed, Rodney, every bit as much as you do," he affirmed. "I just want to be sure that nothing goes catastrophically wrong for us when we try it."

McKay's posture relaxed slightly and he huffed as he looked back over his shoulder at the test results on the tablet. "Fine. Even if it's not a – what did Sheppard call it, an Ascend-o-matic? Even supposing it isn't Ascension related, it still doesn't make sense. I can understand that you would want to be in the right mental state before heading off to explore a different reality, but seriously! It can't be that much different than getting psyched up for an away mission to a potentially hostile planet. The best the linguists could come up with was "Controlling the realities of time and space with your mind"? What exactly is that supposed to mean anyway? It's pure Ascension psychobabble, every word of it!"

> Wednesday, 23:55 Atlantis Standard Time  
>  Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
> 
> They'd only stayed in the bubble long enough to establish that the universe they'd shifted into was a virtual carbon copy of their own. Rodney had insisted they collapse the displacement field and work in this reality in order to conserve the charge in the DSCs as long as possible. They had the capability to make at least a dozen more shifts fully charged, but maintaining the displacement field drained them quickly.
> 
> After almost an hour of watching Radek and Rodney pour over the data McKay had downloaded, argue, type furiously, run a simulation, then do it all over again, Sheppard was nearly ready to strangled them both. He pushed off the wall he'd been lounging against.
> 
> "I'm checking the perimeter," he said as he pulled out his glock to re-check the magazine, then holstered the sidearm.
> 
> "I still think we should talk to the 'us' from this universe," Rodney complained.
> 
> Sheppard let out a sigh. Rodney and Radek had been all for contacting their counterparts in this universe for assistance, but he'd overruled them.
> 
> "Look, there's plenty time to get friendly once I've done a little re-con," he reasoned as he snapped the P90 on to its harness." I just want to make sure they're not, I don't know - Mirror-universe versions of us or something."
> 
> "That would be highly unlikely," Radek said, but Rodney cut him off.
> 
> "Geek!" he proclaimed, pointing a finger at him."You are a bigger nerd than anyone on my staff!"
> 
> Sheppard flipped him off. "Be back in 10."
> 
> He walked down the corridor, weapon at the ready. On their Atlantis, this section was off limits because of unrepaired damage, first from the shield collapse when the city was under the ocean, and then again during the storm and the Genii invasion. It had never been a priority to fix it, and it looked like the same held true here.
> 
> Atlantis had been every bit as responsive to him here as back home, though if pressed, he'd have to say something was off – like a slightly different flavour for lack of a better description. He'd politely asked the city not to show their life signs on any internal sensor sweeps, and McKay had been able to get into the mainframe and confirm that they weren't on the grid.
> 
> Sheppard didn't see anyone – not that he expected to –but he felt a little less homicidal when he entered the room again. "Anything?" he asked as he set down the P90.
> 
> "It just doesn't make sense," Rodney griped, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. "There were no recent failures or power spikes – nothing we can find to account for why the sensors would have failed to detect inbound ships. We should have seen them coming!"
> 
> Radek made a frustrated noise and McKay peered over his shoulder at the data on the tablet. "What the hell is that?"
> 
> "This is the report I sent to Elizabeth." On the screen was a log with various graphs and charts. "This is all the data we've compiled from the live trails with the AR machine" He indicated a particular line graph. "You see how each data set has a signature unique to its own universe."
> 
> "Yes, yes," McKay agreed impatiently. "What does that have to do with-"
> 
> "Look at this," Zelenka interrupted, and pulled up another log. "I've graphed out the results from the scanner logs." He tapped another key, maximizing a screen.
> 
> McKay frowned again."That can't be right. Are you sure you have the inverse tangent set up to return degrees, not radians?"
> 
> Zelenka looked offended, but McKay just waved it off. "Yes, I know, stupid question, I had to ask. Okay, run a side by side comparison with the energy output analysis for the AR device, overlapping the analysis from the sensor log report, and throw the results into a bode plot."
> 
> There was no sound but the tapping of keys and the whirring of the hard drive for several minutes as the data compiled. With a flicker, the screen refreshed, presenting them with a new graph comprised of both data sets.
> 
> "Muj bože!" Radek breathed out softly.
> 
> Rodney stared damning results, face ashen. "It was our fault," he whispered.
> 
> Sheppard shouldered McKay out of the way to study the results himself. The beginning of the graph had disparate green and blue lines that quickly overlapped into a solid red line. There were a few variances along the line, but it was pretty much solid. "Rodney," he growled, his tone a question and demand. The equations made sense, but he didn't really understand what the raw sensor data meant.
> 
> Rodney brought up the original sensor data graph. "Look here," he instructed, pointing to dips and squiggles on the screen.
> 
> "I get the numbers, Rodney," he bit out. "Explain the part about how it's our fault."
> 
> "This is the spectrum our sensors are calibrated for," he said, indicating the highs and lows. "The energy signature of a Wraith hyper drive engine falls well within that, and we can generally detect them by the time they hit the heliopause of the Lantean system." Rodney brought the new model back up. Sheppard could see how the blue line suddenly dropped when the AR data was superimposed over it, almost like it was being pulled off course.
> 
> "The AR machine created - well, for lack of a better description, a probability bubble around Atlantis. We didn't see the Wraith coming because while we were using the alternate reality device, the sensors were looking at other realities. Or, to be more accurate, the most probable realities - the ones that happened most often."
> 
> John stared at the screen, a sick feeling twisting in his gut as he listened.
> 
> Radek continued. "It was a kind of hysteresis error, as the effects lingered for at least several hours after each use. By the time the remnant flux density began to dissipate, we were running another test. None of the technicians saw anything the atypical about the sensors because they aren't trained to look at the waveforms and energy signatures – they were looking for occurrences."
> 
> "The Wraith could have been heading toward us for weeks," McKay said bleakly, shame colouring his every word. "It should have occurred to me to run checks on key systems to be sure the device wasn't interfering with anything mission critical. I'm supposed to be the brilliant one, and now everyone is dead because of my stupidity."
> 
> "Was there anything in the database to indicate this thing would screw with the sensors?" Sheppard asked, his face hard.
> 
> McKay shook his head. "No. I mean, I never read anything like that, and I read all the documentation, but I should have thought about the possibility." His let out a derisive laugh. "I should have realized the kind of disruption it might cause, I mean, it only makes sense there would be something..."
> 
> Sheppard had heard enough. He reached out and caught Rodney by the shoulders, giving him a firm shake. "There was no way you could have known. It wasn't your fault." He looked over to where Zelenka sat, catching his eyes. "Neither one of you."
> 
> Rodney jerked free of his grip. "I'm the CSO, John! I'm the genius who always pulls our asses out of the fire at the eleventh hour!" he yelled, gesticulating wildly. "Only this time, I screwed up and it's too late – no last minute save, no instant replay – they're all dead. Game over!"
> 
> Radek spoke hesitantly. "There is... one thing. Maybe."
> 
> McKay's gaze snapped around to Zelenka. "What thing?" he demanded. "What are you talking about?"
> 
> "We worried about the potential temporal displacement," he continued, absently rubbing his chin with one hand as he spoke. "We spent many hours making sure the shift would be stable, that there would be no inadvertent time slippage."
> 
> Rodney's face lit up as he caught where Radek was going. "But if we remove those constraints, we could go back –"
> 
> "We could warn ourselves!"
> 
> "McKay, are you saying we could go back in time?" Sheppard asked sceptically. "Stop this from happening?"
> 
> "Yes! Well, theoretically anyway." He looked up at the Colonel. "I mean, we were trying to prevent that sort of thing from happening. To do it deliberately, and accurately, well, that remains to be seen."
> 
> "We should begin immediately," Radek said. "The longer we wait the more difficult it will become."
> 
> "Why?" asked Sheppard.
> 
> Radek lifted his wrist to indicate the DSC. "Outside the bubble, we are no longer insulated from the passage of normal time. The more time passes, the farther out of step we are with our own universe and the harder it will be to go back and affect any kind of change."
> 
> "We need to re-establish the displacement field, and get to the AR device on this Atlantis as soon as possible," Rodney said as he stowed his tablet in his pack. "We've probably only got enough charge to maintain a constant field for a couple of hours, and I don't know how long it's going to take us to rewrite the code, so chop, chop. Let's get moving, shall we?" He tapped a command on his DSC and promptly vanished.
> 
> "That is so weird to watch," Sheppard grumbled as tapped a code in his own wrist device and Rodney came back into view. Once he saw that Radek was with them, Sheppard took point and started on the shortest path to the lab.
> 
> It wasn't long before they were moving into a more populated area of the city. Sheppard felt a little like a voyeur as he walked the halls, watching people who couldn't see him. It was especially eerie knowing that in his universe, some of these people were now dead, victims of an incursion they never saw coming.
> 
> A pair of marines on late patrol came around the corner, and something twisted in his gut as he recognized Philips and Vargas. He firmly shoved it away, reminding himself that if McKay and Zelenka could make this work, he was going to make sure those two got a very special commendation each, even if they would have absolutely no idea why.
> 
> A few minutes later they were approaching the lab, and Rodney, impatient to get started, took the lead. Sheppard just grinned and went to take up a position outside the door when he saw Rodney stop dead.
> 
> "Oh crap."
> 
> Zelenka stepped up beside him to peer into the open lab. "This is not unexpected, Rodney. He is, after all, you."
> 
> Sheppard glanced over his shoulder to see the McKay from this reality hunkered over his laptop. "Is this going to be a problem?"
> 
> "I need access to that AR machine in real-time," Rodney explained. "Unfortunately, I recognize that look. It's the one I get when I'm stymied by a problem and I'm not leaving till I've got it solved." He sighed morosely. "He's not going anywhere soon."

 

***

 

Rodney stared blankly at his laptop, the recent conversation replaying in his mind.

He was an arrogant man, and that wasn't likely to change. It was just a natural by-product of being the smartest man in two galaxies. But it was tempered with caution now. The knowledge that people could die – had died in fact – as a result of his mistakes weighed heavy on him. He would never intentionally place lives at risk for the sake of his professional pride. That Radek might think him capable of doing so stung deeply.

Suddenly anger gripped him. He rose from his seat and walked over to the Ancient device at the centre of all the fuss. The control console was not all that unlike the ones in the control gate room. Ancient script adorned buttons and tabs and there was a screen that lit up with data when the device was active.

There was a circular platform next to the control console the observer stood on to began their trip. It was made of the same odd grey material as the control chair, with clear crystal panels that glowed blue once it was initialized. There were four personal control units sitting on a nearby table.

The only thing holding back live testing was the mental component referenced in the documentation on the device. He'd spent weeks going over the machine itself, and while there was nothing about it that resembled any of the ascension devices they'd run across so far, he couldn't figure out what else it could be. It wasn't like pulling up a jumper HUD or interfacing with the control chair. The thought of altering or controlling time, space and reality with your mind sounded suspiciously like something you could only do if you were a glowing squid, and he'd already had a close encounter with that particular brand of Ancient insanity.

Rodney picked up one of the personal control units and, on a whim, snapped it closed around his wrist. The metal warmed instantly and the display on the top activated, indicating a full charge. He nudged the indicator, dialling it up to the setting they’d used when sending some lab mice through earlier that day. He could feel mild vibrations through his arm as the device synched itself to its counterparts.

"I could do this right now," he mused. "I could just step up and... and *go* for it."

***

> "Yes, you can," McKay said encouragingly as he walked up behind his alternate self. "You could take a little spin, go have a little look – you know that it's perfectly safe. Everything will be fine!"
> 
> Sheppard looked over, startled. "McKay, what the hell are you doing?"
> 
> "I am trying to get uninterrupted access to the AR device for 5 minutes so that I can make the changes I need to get us home," he said.
> 
> "Rodney, no!" Zelenka exclaimed, following after him. "You are the one who said gene carriers should not operate the device themselves! What are you thinking?"
> 
> "Look, we just need him out of here for a few minutes!" McKay argued as they watched the other Rodney. "You're the one who had been insisting that this is not an ascension device. If something weird happens, we're right here. You can drop out of the bubble and intervene."

***

  
Rodney felt his pulse quicken and he shook his head as he huffed out a laugh. He was crazy to even consider it, especially after the many weeks he'd spent arguing against the very idea. He was the champion of the scientific method, defender of the quantifiable. Unlike Colonel Fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants, he didn't do things on a whim. It was simply absurd. Unthinkable. Madness.

It left him feeling strangely giddy.

This was one of their most tantalizing discoveries yet. But more testing wouldn't tell them anything they didn't already know. And he *knew* the machine itself was safe. If Radek was right and it wasn't Ascension related – he was going to go out on a limb and trust him on that one – then he should be able to initialize it with no ill effect. Then he could set it for solo use and go for a five minute jaunt, just long enough to take a peek around another reality. After all, he could always come back right away if the situation warranted it. He could even set an automatic recall to pull him back after five minutes in case something went wrong and he couldn't shift back himself.

He stepped behind the main control panel to initialize the platform and set the auto-recall, holding his breath as it powered up. When there was no unexpected surge and the power indicators showed the same results as they did when Radek operated the console, Rodney was flooded with relief. One for Radek – he rolled his eyes, knowing that the other man would be insufferable after this. After adjusting the initialization sequence to allow for individual override control from a DSC, he went to stand on the platform. He tapped the activation code into the wrist device and a soft chime began to sound from the console. Rodney frowned. That hadn’t happened when they sent through the inanimate objects or the mice.

A few seconds later the platform lit up beneath him and he felt a tingle, like a static charge, running all over him from head to toes. He held his hands out in front of him. He could see the displacement field forming around him. He made a concerted effort to breathe calmly and adjusted the settings on the DSC to a 0.01% differential.

A second, more discordant tone joined the initial chime. He wondered if it could be some sort of reminder to whoever was manning the controls. Only that didn’t make sense, the documentation specifically mentioned lone travellers being able to self actualize their destinations...

He got a Very Bad Feeling that he had missed something Really Big, that perhaps the mental component Radek had been so adamant about was more important than he'd realized.

"Off! Off! OFFOFFOFF!" he chanted, hoping he could deactivate it with his gene the way they were able to control so much other Ancient tech, but to no avail. It made sense, since the machine had to be manually activated that he wouldn't be able to just turn it off with a thought, but now he was caught in the middle of something with no idea what was happening. Even worse, if he stepped off the disk with the bubble already forming around him, it could be very bad –

"Oh, shit!"

  
***

 

> "McKay! What the hell is happening?"
> 
> "I don't know, I DON'T KNOW! It's never done that before, it shouldn't be doing that, he did everything right!"
> 
> "As far as we know," Radek interjected. "This does not mean that we are correct. Evidence would suggest we were not."
> 
> "Oh, does it make you happy to be able to say I told you so?
> 
> "Rodney! Focus! Is there anything we can do?"

  
***

  
Rodney wished for just a moment that he’d never found this lab, never come to Atlantis, that he'd stayed at Area 51, that he could just *listen* to the brilliant staff he’d surrounded himself with, and oh god, he’d much rather have a boring life back on earth with his cat than a smear of temporally displaced atoms spread across countless universes –

"Hey McKay, you in here? What's all the racket about?"

He opened his eyes to see Sheppard enter the lab, as he often did late in the evening, no doubt coming to harass him into leaving for the night.

"John!"

Sheppard stopped short, caught off guard by the use of his first name. It took him a full few seconds to process what he was seeing and then he darted across the room to the console. He looked down at the controls, helpless frustration on his features. "Rodney, what the hell are you doing? How do I turn this off?"

A third sound blared out and there was no mistaking it for anything but an alarm. The coolly indifferent voice of the Atlantis AI cut in. _"Parameters supplied for trans-dimensional shift insufficient; disengaging controller from matrix. Displacement Field will engage in 10 seconds."_

"Hit the blue and gold control in the lower left of the panel!" Rodney said desperately. "And think off as hard as you can!"

"I'm thinking off!" Sheppard yelled as he hit the control. It made a 'blaaat' noise nothing happened. "This isn't working, Rodney!" He hit the control again with the same result.

"It's just not fair!" Rodney moaned. "Of all the times I could pick to trust the judgement of people who are not as smart as me! Just once I would have been happy to be proved wrong!"

Sheppard tapped his radio, "Radek, get down here now! McKay's in trouble!"

"Oh god," Rodney looked at Sheppard, wide-eyed and desperate. "John! I don't know what's going to happen – if I don't make it back, tell Jeannie I love her, tell Radek my most brilliant papers are on the H: drive, tell Elizabeth-"

"Tell them yourself when you get back," Sheppard ordered and he moved as close as possible to the platform without touching the energy field. "You better come back, Rodney, because if I have to come looking for you, you're gonna be very sorry!"

"John..." McKay reached out as if to touch Sheppard, then curled his fingers back in. "I wish I'd been braver, that I'd told you how I felt..."

_"Field Engaged."_

"RODNEY!"

Just like that, Rodney winked out of existence, right before his eyes. He was still trying to gain his bearings when Zelenka came running in.

"What is it? What has happened?" he demanded, glancing around while trying to catch his breath. "Where is Rodney?"

John just stared at the empty transport platform. "I have no idea."

***

>   
>  "What the hell?"
> 
> Rodney stood on the platform, frozen in shock. He could see, and hear Sheppard and Radek talking about him like he wasn't present.
> 
> "Radek!" he yelled, stepping off the platform in front of the other man, waving his hand in his face. Suddenly, Radek moved to the console – walking right through Rodney to do it.
> 
> Rodney gasped, then patted down his chest and torso.
> 
> "That is so weird!"
> 
> "That's exactly what I thought the first time it happened to me."
> 
> Rodney whirled around to see – himself. And another Radek. And a Sheppard. He looked over his shoulder at his Radek and Sheppard, then back again.
> 
> "What the-" His mind switched gears from his own predicament to process what he was seeing. "You! You're from another reality, and you're here – watching me!"
> 
> Sheppard grimaced. "That sounds pretty skeevy when you say it like that."
> 
> "Yes, yes, so we are, and you were about to do the same to some other Rodney, so glass houses and all that, hmm?" McKay said brusquely. "So here's the thing. We need to borrow your AR device for a little while."
> 
> "And why don't you go use your own?" Rodney demanded. He crossed his arms, present predicament temporarily forgotten.
> 
> There was a heavy moment of silence before Sheppard spoke. "Just over 4 hours ago in real time, our Atlantis was overrun by the Wraith. We set off the self destruct just before we shifted."
> 
> He dropped his arms, studying each of their faces briefly, the nodded. "I'm sorry," he said. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Have you been here watching us this whole time?" he demanded.
> 
> "No," Sheppard replied. "We've been in one of the south east towers staying out of the way while McKay and Zelenka tried to figure out what happened."
> 
> "You need to reconfigure the long range sensors to account for the disruption caused by the AR device," Radek spoke urgently. "Or like us, you could be caught blind."
> 
> Rodney frowned. "What does the AR device have to do with the sensors?"
> 
> McKay gave him a bleak look. "It creates a probability bubble that encompasses the entire city. The sensors are inside the bubble."
> 
> He thought about it for a moment and realized with dread what that would mean – and that his reality was wide open and vulnerable to attack as well.
> 
> "I have to tell Sheppard!" he said, and tapped in the recall code. Nothing happened. He tried again, but there was still no result. "Why isn't this working? What the hell was I thinking?"
> 
> McKay gave him a guilty look. "I may have encouraged you along."
> 
> "What, exactly, does that mean?"
> 
> "I sort of suggested that you should do it when you were considering making a solo shift earlier."
> 
> "You did WHAT!?" Rodney was incensed. "I should have known those weren't my thoughts! They were insane!" he fumed. "Fine. How do I get back?"
> 
> "Uhm," McKay hedged. "Well. The thing is. We never used the device solo," he admitted. "Radek was manning the control console when I went."
> 
> "Oh, I cannot BELIEVE this! YOU tempted me like an evil siren and now I'm trapped!"
> 
> "Hey, I didn't know there would be a problem!" McKay protested. "And we were set to drop out of flux and try to manually override the control console when your Sheppard had to come barging in!"
> 
> "So what if he did?"
> 
> "Oh right! We should just pop out of nowhere in front of the military commander of Atlantis and say what? 'Don't mind us, we're from an alternate universe here trying to save your Rodney because something's gone wrong since no one was at the controls! Also, do you mind if we borrow your AR machine?' Right! We'd be lucky not to get shot.
> 
> "You could have explained!"
> 
> "Oh Please! You KNOW that Elizabeth would have us politely detained. We'd end up under observation while they tried to figure out if we were posed a risk, and there would be a million questions, and it would all take far too long. We just don't have the time!"
> 
> Sheppard nodded. "If alternate versions of us had suddenly turned up on our Atlantis, I'd have locked them down until I completed a thorough threat assessment, regardless of anything they might have to say." Especially if there had been a threat, real or perceived, to Rodney. He didn't say that part out loud.
> 
> "We could continue to waste time bickering, or we could try to work together and come up with a solution," Radek said mildly, earning a double McKay-Rodney glare which he weathered calmly.
> 
> "Okay, okay," McKay said. He looked at Rodney. "You set the auto-recall – maybe it'll just whisk you back at the end of the 5 minutes."
> 
> Radek shook his head. "I do not believe so. When his controller was disengaged, it became completely independent, and is no longer slaved to the main AR control console. This is why the manual override on the console did not shut it down."
> 
> "Oh this is bad, this is very, very bad."
> 
> "This might be a stupid question," Sheppard began, and the other three men all looked at him. "But why is he still here? I mean, I thought that this machine sent you somewhere else – a different reality. Why is he here, still in his own?"
> 
> "That's a very good question, actually," McKay replied, staring at Rodney. "And I think I know the answer." He pulled out his tablet and started typing. Radek and Rodney both came closer, each looking over a shoulder.
> 
> "That makes sense," Rodney muttered.
> 
> Radek nodded. "This is what we were missing," he said with a sigh. "When the traveller is controlling the shift, they must set the coordinates mentally."
> 
> "So, for the non-scientists in the crowd, again I ask - why is Rodney still here?"
> 
> "The field was created, putting him out of phase with his reality," McKay explained. "But he didn't set a destination, so he's in a holding pattern. The DSC is still waiting for coordinates. Think of it like starting a car – the engine is running, but if you don't drive it, you can sit there and idle until you run out of gas."
> 
> "So then he just has to wait until he 'runs out of gas'?"
> 
> "It is not that simple," Radek explained. "If the DSC runs out of power while the traveller is in flux, he may be trapped out of phase."
> 
> "Or, worse," Rodney said. "If the field collapses with someone still inside it, their atomic structure disintegrates with the field and they simply cease to exist. And in this case, that someone would be me."

  
***

Sheppard stood by helplessly as he watched as the lab fill with sleepy science staff, all pouring over the records to try and figure out what had happened to McKay. It was not a feeling he was accustomed to, and he didn't like it. He stalked around the room, peering over shoulders and generally making the scientists nervous. He didn't really care. He figured if a little pressure worked to motivate McKay from time to time, maybe it would work on his staff as well.

"Sakra!" He looked over at Radek who was standing at the console, swiping a hand over his forehead. "This is worse than useless! There is no log showing degree of displacement. There is no link between console and DSC which is why the override did not shut it down. But there should be something! Some indicator, some measurable sign of where he went, and there's nothing!"

"What I don't understand is what the hell was going through his head," Sheppard growled. "Wasn't he the one ranting about how it wasn't safe for gene carriers to operate?"

"I think perhaps he was making a point." At Sheppard's inquiring look, Radek continued. "He was insisting we move forward with live testing and I believed it was unwise. I brought up Doranda."

Sheppard closed his eyes and let out a sigh. It all made sense now. "And he was trying to prove that he isn't an arrogant prick who places results and discoveries above the lives of his staff." He left out a wry laugh and looked back at Radek. "Yeah, that sounds like Rodney."

Radek looked at him intently. "Colonel, tell me again exactly what you heard."

Sheppard dutifully reiterated, for what seemed like the twelfth time, what he'd heard and observed from the time he arrived at the lab till Rodney had vanished before his eyes. Radek 'hmmmed' and asked a few questions, but the information hadn't changed from the first time he'd told him.

"He didn't say anything about the settings on his controller? About visualizing a destination?"

Sheppard took a breath to explain, yet again, that Rodney had indicated clearly that he didn't know what was happening when one of the scientists gasped.

"Dr. McKay!"

He spun around to find McKay had re-appeared, and a grin split his face. He'd taken two strides toward Rodney before he faltered and stopped.

"You are not McKay," he stated, studying the man standing there. It looked like McKay, but his hair was a little longer, the way it often got when he was immersed in a project and neglected little things like personal grooming and eating balanced meals. He was also wearing a tac vest – and his Rodney had most certainly NOT been dressed for an away mission when he'd vanished from the platform. Sheppard's hand fall to his sidearm.

"Actually, I am," the man disagreed. "I'm just not your McKay. But he's here. Just stuck out of phase. I'm trying to help him get back."

"Can you talk to him?" Radek asked. "Is he alright?"

"No, I can't talk to him," otherMcKay said, the 'you idiot' implied by his tone. "I'm in phase with your universe. I'd have to go back out of phase to talk to him. But he can see you, and hear you – he just can't interact with you in any meaningful way at the moment."

"I think you need to have a little chat with Elizabeth," Sheppard began, lifting his hand to tap his communicator

"We don't have time for that! We've need to him back here as soon as possible because we don't know what will happen when his bubble collapses!" McKay shouted, waving a hand emphatically. "Plus, I kind of need to borrow your AR machine and make a few adjustments to it to get us back home a little earlier than we left."

"Us?" Sheppard asked as he wrapped his fingers around the butt of his glock.

"Earlier?" Radek asked, adjusting his glasses while leaning in eagerly.

OtherMcKay sighed and rolled his eyes. "You also need to get Kusanagi on recalibrating the long range sensors, and I mean right now at this very moment. Now listen carefully, because I only have time to explain this once."

****

Sheppard's mind was a-whirl as he watched OtherMcKay and Radek argue over the console. Elizabeth had come down while OtherMcKay had been explaining the situation. When he was done, there had been a brief argument about detaining him for more questions, but then OtherZelenka had suddenly appeared. He had politely informed them that he and Rodney were working very hard trying to get him home, and could they please stop being idiots and work on the problem at hand? Before anyone could say a word, he'd vanished again.

"Well," Radek had said as he'd polished his glasses furiously. "That is not something one has happen every day. It is heartening to know that I am the voice of reason in more than one universe."

And that had been that – Elizabeth had ordered that anything they required be made available to them and asked John to keep her updated. Kusanagi had got to work on the sensors and reported that they had indeed been getting false readings for several weeks. This almost gave Sheppard a heart attack until she'd advised that they were now correctly calibrated and gave an all clear.

He needed to do something, anything, but there was nothing he could help with. The math he got, but the rest was so far over his head it made his eyes cross trying to follow it. He was feeling anxious, and helpless and a little bored and it was making him extremely cranky. He sauntered to the back of the lab and looked around to make sure no one else was paying any attention to him, then leaned back against he wall and looked at the floor as he began to speak.

"Rodney?" he asked, feeling kind of silly. "I don't know if you're really busy with that Zelenka right now, but if you can hear me – " he stopped, words stuck tight. He took a deep breath and started again. "That thing you said, about being brave. Wishing you told me." He cleared his throat. "I, uhm. I wish that...well, it's not just you, okay?" He nodded. "Okay. So. Get your ass back here. And don't think we're not going to have a talk about doing stupid things to try and prove a point, buddy."

 

***

 

> Rodney's mouth dropped open.
> 
> Sheppard cocked an eyebrow at him. "You didn't know?"
> 
> Rodney turned to him and mutely shook his head.
> 
> Radek tsked loudly. "Clearly you are not the genius you claim to be in this reality," he remarked.
> 
> "Hey!" Rodney protested. "How was I supposed to know? He's always kirking his way around-"
> 
> "It's not kirking!" Sheppard argued. "I don't go looking for attention, and I'm sure he doesn't either. Stop saying that."
> 
> Rodney gave him a sideways look. "So, you and... and McKay?"
> 
> Sheppard gave him a terse nod.
> 
> "Really? I mean, me? Him? I would have thought that-"
> 
> "You really don't pay attention, do you?" Sheppard cut him off.
> 
> "I am not good at people!" he whined. "And I'm terrible at interpersonal relationships!"
> 
> "But you are good at deciphering why Ancient technology is not functioning as it should, so you should get back to that, yes?" Radek said pointedly.
> 
> Rodney's gaze flicked back to study his Sheppard for a moment. He took in the tense set of the other man's shoulders, the tightness in his face. How was he have supposed to have known? He'd thought Sheppard was straight for god's sake!
> 
> With a sigh, he returned his attention to the DSC and tried yet again to figure out how to control it with his brain.

  
***

 

About an hour later, OtherMcKay stretched and let out a groan. "Okay, 5 minute break," he said. "I'll be right back." He tapped something on his DSC and promptly vanished.

"Dammit, McKay!" Sheppard snarled. "You could at least warn us!"

"He needs to check in with his Zelenka to see if they have made any progress," Radek said with a bemused expression. "I believe we have successfully managed to configure the AR device to modulate the shift with a 6 hour delay, but this will dangerously deplete the DSCs. Anything farther back and they may fail."

"What happens if they fail?"

"We lose molecular cohesion during the shift and our component atoms are spread out across the cosmos," OtherMcKay said as he and OtherZelenka both suddenly phased into view.

"That is most disturbing to witness," Radek said mildly as he shook his head. "What is Rodney's status?"

"We've been trying to ascertain how the mental controls work, but he's not getting anywhere," OtherZelenka said. "Unlike the jumpers, it seems that once the device is set for mental operation, the keypad is disabled."

"The power level on his DSC is getting dangerously low," added OtherMcKay. "By my estimate, he's got, at most, another 45 minutes."

OtherZelenka spoke again. "Our window for getting back is rapidly closing. The three of us must leave in the next ten minutes or there is no guarantee we will arrive in time to prevent the destruction of our Atlantis."

"Once you leave, we lose all contact with Rodney!" Sheppard objected.

"There is also the concern that if you re-initialize the AR device for a temporal shift before we are able to retrieve Rodney, it may interfere with ability of his DSC to lock into the command console," Radek added.

Sheppard took a step toward the other man, hands clenched at his sides. "You are not using that device and leaving our McKay stranded in limbo!"

"If we don't go, over a hundred people on Atlantis will die!" argued OtherMcKay. "And we lose the city!" He looked from Radek to Sheppard. "Colonel. John. I wouldn't want to be responsible for that. I promise you, he wouldn't want to be either."

"Rodney." A new voice cut across the tense silence, and they all looked over to where OtherSheppard had appeared. "We're not leaving until either they get their McKay back or his DSC completely runs out of power."

"John, if we don't go in the next few minutes, it will be too late!"

"No," he said, stepping close to McKay to put a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't our universe. I wouldn't let them talk me into leaving you stranded if the situation were reversed. We have no right to dictate to them what they must do."

Sheppard studied the two men. He saw the anguish written on OtherMcKay's face and realized, to his shame, he'd suspected the man of being more motivated by saving himself than saving his Atlantis. Just like his Rodney, McKay was an open book, and he was clearly suffering the loss of his city and his friends. His own doppelganger appeared to have a stoic facade, except it was his face, and he knew what every twitch and every tense muscle meant. It was killing the other man to make this choice, to respect his orders – to not go for his gun and try to commandeer the AR console by force. He swallowed.

"What did Rodney say to you?" he asked quietly. The other Sheppard gave him a hooded look.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "We're not leaving him stranded."

"What. Did. He. Say?"

OtherSheppard sighed. "He said we should go, and that he didn't really want to have that conversation with you anyway."

Sheppard swore and looked away, trying to get a lid on the feelings raging through him. His eyes landed on the three DSCs sitting in a pile on the counter and he had a sudden thought.

"What if I went after him?" he asked, thoughts flying as he tried to piece together what they'd been explaining about the shifts and the displacement field and controlling all with your mind. "I mean, you guys are always telling me I have the strongest expression of the gene, and McKay always complains that Ancient tech just rolls over and begs when I ask nicely – maybe I can figure it out."

"Colonel, we have no way of knowing that you will be any more successful at manipulating it that Rodney has been," Radek said. "We could end up losing both of you!"

"But you might be able to make it work," his counterpart said. "If anyone could, I'd bet on me – so, I'd bet on you."

"We may be able to learn something if we observed the results of a DSC initialization," added OtherZelenka. "But we might not. There is no guarantee. Radek is right to warn you against this. You could be lost as well."

Sheppard grabbed a DSC and snapped it closed around his wrist. "Fire it up, Radek. I'm not just sitting here and waiting for him to run out of time. I have to at least try!" He looked over at the other Sheppard. "As soon as I'm gone, you three haul ass home."

"You sure about this?" he asked. "You heard what the geek squad said."

Sheppard shrugged. "We'll get home or we won't. If this thing is really supposed to be controlled by the DSC, it shouldn't matter what changes you make to the settings on the base unit, right? Besides, I have to go after him. It's what we do. And I think it's my turn anyway."

"It is, actually," OtherMcKay announced, and Sheppard gave a soft huff of laughter.

He stepped up on the platform while Radek made some adjustments. "Colonel, you must input the following code."

He carefully entered the sequence as Radek instructed, and as he finished, a soft chime began to sound. Radek and OtherZelenka were studying the console. "It is as we thought," Radek said. "Initializing the platform through the DSC locks out the main console and keypad. The chime seems to be an indicator that the DSC is ready for the input of a location."

*Take me to Rodney,* Sheppard thought, but the chiming was joined by a second, jarring tone.

"That's the sound I heard when I came in," he informed them. A flurry of activity followed while the two Radeks and the OtherMcKay had a rapid fire conversation consisting of the strange shorthand that only they could understand – "No, no, the other – " and "Yes, now just, what if-" followed by, "No – yes –that, if we... yes, exactly!"

OtherMcKay's head snapped up. "Colonel, I want you to think about going into a holding pattern."

Sheppard dutifully imagined hovering above the gateroom floor with a jumper. The alarm halted unexpectedly and the AI spoke, startling them all. _"Trans-dimensional shift in progress - disengaging controller from matrix. Displacement Field will engage in 10 seconds."_

Radek took over. "Colonel, listen carefully. You should be able to link your controller with Rodney's. Once you are in physical contact, the field generated by your DSC will extend to him as well. You must override the safety mechanism on Rodney's DSC and remove it. His device has, essentially, crashed because there was no destination input before he shifted. If it fails while he is still wearing it, it will kill him. Do you understand?"  
"Yeah, Radek, I got that part."

"Make very sure Rodney is touching you when this happens when you remove the DSC, or he will be lost in flux. Once you have done this, you only need to initiate the recall sequence. Do you have any ques-"

_"Field Engaged - commencing shift."_

Sheppard vanished.

"Well," OtherMcKay spoke after several seconds of silence. "I hate to be the one who ruins the moment, but we really need to get going."

Radek and OtherZelenka nodded at the same time and set to work making the necessary adjustments while OtherMcKay and OtherSheppard stepped up on the platform. About 30 seconds later, the discordant chime was back.

"Temporal anomaly detected. Time slip imminent with this shift."

OtherZelenka joined them on the platform and the three of them synched their DSCs.

OtherSheppard looked at them. "Ready?"

The two men nodded. He turned to Radek. "Send us home, Dr. Zee."

"At Buh te chránit," he whispered as he hit the control and watched them disappear.

 

***

 

> "What is wrong with you?" Rodney yelled as soon as he realized Sheppard could see him. "It's bad enough I'm trapped here! Then you have to go rushing headlong where Angels fear to tread and take a chance on getting stuck here too!"
> 
> Sheppard took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "McKay," he said as he walked toward him, "It's time for you and I to have a chat. Now shut up and give me your wrist."
> 
> Rodney cringed. "Look, can't we just forget what I said?" he asked. "Chalk it up to crazy things that come pouring out of my mouth when I am afraid for my life and we'll never speak of it again?"
> 
> "No," he said deliberately, grabbing Rodney's wrist when he didn't offer it willingly. There was a brief flare as the two displacement fields meshed. Sheppard studied the DSC, noting the seam where it closed. He pressed the release, but unsurprisingly, nothing happened.
> 
> "Do you have any tools on you?" he asked. Rodney started patting down his tac vest with his free hand, then shook his head.
> 
> "Okay then," Sheppard said and bent over to retrieve a small knife from his boot.
> 
> "Hey! What are you doing?" Rodney protested, trying to wrench his hand free from Sheppard's grip.
> 
> "Rodney, stop it," Sheppard growled, yanking him closer. Rodney stumbled forward and Sheppard caught him, arms automatically wrapping around the other man to keep him from falling. Rodney's hands flailed briefly, finally coming to rest on Sheppard's shoulders, eyes wide as he looked up into his face. They stood like that for a long moment until Sheppard finally pulled his arms away. McKay went to pull back and Sheppard grabbed his wrist again.
> 
> "Leave your other hand on my shoulder," he ordered. "Didn't you hear what Zelenka said? We have to be in physical contact while I get this off you."
> 
> McKay's fingers tightened around his shoulder in a wordless reply as Sheppard pulled the wrist with the DSC on it close and began to wiggle the knife point into the seam.
> 
> "You were stuck on that platform," Sheppard spoke as he worked. "Then you say – things, and then you vanish." There was a snick. He put the knife in his teeth and tried to pry it open with his fingers but it didn't budge. He went back to work on removing the device.
> 
> "I thought we lost you. That I lost you." The words were like sandpaper in his throat, but he forced them out. "Right after you tell me–" he trailed off for a moment, hands stilled as he tried to find the words. He looked up into Rodney's stunned expression. "It's not just you, okay?"
> 
> They heard the AI announce the temporal displacement, heard Radek say something quietly in Czech, and then their three visitors were gone.
> 
> "I hope they make it back in time," Rodney said quietly.
> 
> "Me too," Sheppard replied. He tried working the knife in from the end, and had a little more success. The lights on McKay's DSC suddenly all flashed red.
> 
> "Oh crap," McKay said, fingers clenched at the fabric of Sheppard's BDUs. Sheppard gave up on careful and jammed the knife in – if he sliced Rodney's wrist and earned an earful about trying to kill him, well at least he'd still be here to give him an earful. He twisted as hard as he could and with an audible snap, the device popped free. The lights turned to a solid red at that moment. They watched it fall, it faded away to nothing before it hit the floor.
> 
> He felt a shudder go through Rodney. In one smooth motion, he tucked away his knife, then slipped an arm around his waist to pul him in close. He lifted his other hand to caress Rodney's face, running a thumb over his bottom lip before leaning in to kiss him. It was soft and achingly sweet, and he only let it last a few seconds before pulling away.
> 
> "Oh," said Rodney, looking a bit dazed and Sheppard smiled.
> 
> "Yes, oh," he agreed. "Time to go home, buddy," he said as he moved back a bit. "Don't let go." He pulled his arm from around Rodney and tapped in the recall code.

  
***

"You are back!" Radek shouted. He tapped his comm. "Yes, Dr. Weir, they are both back, safe and sound," he said.

Sheppard hit the release on his DSC. "I think that I'll stick with the puddle jumpers if it's all the same to you, Dr. Zee," he said, dropping the device on the table.

"I think that would be quite acceptable, Colonel," Radek said with a smile. He turned to McKay. "And you, Rodney?" he asked, his expression turning solemn. "You frightened us all, my friend. I am glad you are safe. But I am even gladder that it is not I who must explain my actions."

"This was so not my fault!" McKay exclaimed. "That – that *me* from another reality, he admitted that he was egging me along!"

"Yes, but you were the one who was considering it in the first place, Rodney!"

"I wasn't going to do it! He seduced me into it!"

Sheppard cocked an eyebrow at him. "I can't wait to see you try to sell that to Elizabeth."

Rodney glared at him, but suddenly all he could think of was the feel of Sheppard's lips on his own. He felt heat flood his face and he looked away. A moment later, Sheppard was right there, bumping his shoulder, a funny little smile on his face.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

Rodney nodded. "Yeah. I guess there's no point in putting it off – better go face the music."

Rodney knew he went red right to the tips of his ears when Sheppard leaned in and whispered, "After that, we can get back to our chat. I've got more to say, but none of it involves words."

 

> Wednesday, 15:27 Atlantis Standard Time  
>  Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
> 
>  
> 
> "On the third shift, there was an interesting item in the lab," Rodney said, recounting a description of an interesting piece of tech he'd seen. "It looked like... like..." he suddenly stopped, a blank look on his face.
> 
> "Rodney?" Weir asked, leaning forward in her chair. "Rodney, are you okay?"
> 
> He didn't respond. After a moment, he slumped back in his chair, expression going slack.
> 
> She looked over at Dr. Zelenka to find that he wore the same expression. She tapped her ear bud. "Medical emergency. Dr. Beckett, Radek and Rodney are in my office and both seem to be suffering from some kind of absence seizure," she reported. "Please send a team to my office immediately," she said.
> 
> "On my way, love," he responded.
> 
> She stepped out from behind her desk and came around to kneel beside Radek and check his pulse. Rapid, but steady. She checked Rodney's and found the same.
> 
> "Unscheduled offworld activation!" came Chuck's unwelcome announcement from the gateroom. This was the last thing she needed. Just then, the medical team arrived. She cleared out to give them room to work and strode into the command centre.
> 
> "Report."
> 
> "It's SA3, ma'am. They say they have a medical situation- something's wrong with Colonel Sheppard."
> 
> Elizabeth felt a prickle of dread up her spine. Three of her executive suddenly out of commission? There was no way this was coincidence.
> 
> "Drop the shield. Medical team to the gate room."
> 
> "Elizabeth, McKay's awake!" Beckett called from her office. She hurried back to find Rodney struggling to push away the nurse who was trying to check his responses to a penlight.
> 
> "Rodney," she exclaimed in relief. "Just relax. We're going to get you down to medical."
> 
> "Cloak the city," he rasped.
> 
> "What? But why?"
> 
> "Do it!" he insisted in a tone that brooked no argument.
> 
> "You heard the man," she said to Chuck who had been listening to the whole exchange. "Get the cloak up."
> 
> "Yes, Ma'am," he said and seconds later, the city was invisible.
> 
> "Time! What time is it?" he demanded.
> 
> "It's almost 3:30," she replied, puzzled.
> 
> "We made it," came Radek's thready voice from behind her.
> 
> She glanced back and forth between them. "What are you talking about?"
> 
> McKay waved her off and tapped his own ear bud. "Kusanagi, I want you to re-calibrate the long range sensors. No, do it now, right now! Pay specific attention to the waveforms in the same range as what the AR device puts out. Move!"
> 
> He slumped back in his chair with a sigh. "Someone get me a cup of coffee." He looked up at Elizabeth. "When he gets back, Sheppard, Radek and I have one hell of a story to tell you."

**Author's Note:**

> Many people, including major characters, die. But it doesn't stay that way.


End file.
